


The Angel and The Egg

by arcanehalo



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Crack, Demons, Humans, M/M, angel - Freeform, egg
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-20
Updated: 2018-03-28
Packaged: 2019-03-21 15:55:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13744302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arcanehalo/pseuds/arcanehalo
Summary: The angel Kai finds an egg on the shore of a beach on the human world. Is his purpose for being linked to the egg? or is The Creator just having a laugh?





	1. Nest

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Psycho-Trassh (choppychopsuey)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/choppychopsuey/gifts).



> Choppy was telling me about this fic idea they had and I made some jokes and it was a whole different story. I'm writing this sporadically whenever I feel like writing.
> 
> Also Im not sure what archive warnings apply yet I only have like two other things I plan to do.
> 
> (no porn yet. Porn later)

It began with a large egg. It was roughly the size of his own head, a little bigger. Kai hovered a few feet away, unsure of what he was seeing.

It was his first time visiting the human world, his kind couldn't touch human soil or even come near unless they had a Purpose to fulfill, which was difficult because they weren't always told what that was if they had one. Still, they always knew. Kai knew. He felt it in his being, he had to be here, and he wondered if the egg had something to do with his.

At first he thought it was a large stone. It was an ashy color, slightly spotted, and it sat on the sand right where the water could tickle its walls and then melt away with the tide. It sat abrupt, out of place, slightly lopsided, and large. A spot of dust against a painted seaside sunset.

He drew closer with a gentle flap of his wings, riding the breeze without touching the ground. He reached down to touch it, his fingers running along its shell, warm from the sun with a sandy texture.

A sound in the distance, some kind of creature. Kai realized that the egg was a very vulnerable thing, probably easy prey to some of his Creator’s more vicious creations. He tried to pick it up, but it hardly moved. He tried to pull it up from underneath but his hands stayed burrowed in the sand. When he tried to push it aside with his feet or his hands, it simply stood upright when he pulled away again. It seemed as bound to the earth as Kai was repelled from it.

The sound drew closer, and there was the barely audible sound of padded paws rapidly making their way toward them. Kai wrapped his arms around the egg protectively, hiding both of them within his massive wings.

The creature stopped a few feet in front of them, shuffling in the sand, making that odd sound again and again. It was covered in black hair, and was barely twice the egg’s size. Kai thought it looked cute. Another kind of creature, one that looked a bit like Kai did but without wings, ran up to them.

“That must be a man…” he wondered, “and his... dog?” They were harmless, he was thankful. The man was tall and lanky, with hair like the dog’s.

“Toben, Toben, what is it?” the man asked.

The man and his dog looked past them. They were hidden. The two seemed to search the shore with their eyes, but saw nothing.

“C’mon, boy, let's go home.”

The dog yelped and ran straight ahead, blind, bursting through Kai’s wings and crashing against the egg. Kai fell back off the egg, landing on the air an inch from the ground, and the man screamed and fell back on the sand with a thud and a cloud.

Kai shook his head, disoriented, and looked up to see the man stammering soundlessly. Kai wrapped his arms around the egg again. Looking back and forth between him and the egg in confusion, the man suddenly scooped the dog up in his arms and ran, tripping several times.

He wasn't sure what just happened, but he was certain he couldn't leave the egg alone either way.

He noticed the egg suddenly seemed warmer in his arms. He drew closer and hugged it, curling around it, his wings grazing the sand. If he couldn't touch the ground, and the egg couldn't leave it, then this was all he could do to protect it.

The man seemed shocked and confused to see them. He was certain he looked strange, his kind were rarely meant to be seen. But what of the egg? Men came from eggs, he remembered.

 “Are you a man, too?” he asked the egg.

 It was silent.

 Clasping his wings tightly around him and the egg, he held it close, letting the sun rise and fall behind them.

  
***

The cafe was sparsely occupied, and in their booth it was quiet and intimate. Baekhyun twined his fingers with Chanyeol’s with both hands from across the table. He looked lovingly into his eyes with a faint smile, his head turned endearingly on its side.

 “Chanyeol,” he cood, “did your mother drop you on your head as a child?”

 “I DIDN’T IMAGINE IT!!” Chanyeol raged, “I swear, it was some kind of birdman, he had wings and he was perched on this HUGE egg!! Huge, grey egg!! He was nesting on the far end of the shore, and he was going to eat Toben!!”

 Baekhyun let go of one hand to smack him across the head, and resumed holding his hands with the sweetest most consoling tone. “You poor thing, God probably used some of your brain matter to make your ears…”

 “AaagH!!” Chanyeol shoved Baekhyun’s hands away and rubbed the temples of his head with a groan, “You don't believe me! I can't believe you don't believe me!! I’m telling you, it’s real!!”

 Tired of the whole matter, Baekhyun let go with a sigh and picked up his drink instead. It was apparent that his idiotic boyfriend wasn't going to drop the topic, and if he wanted any sex tonight he had to play along until he was satisfied. “Right, so this bird-guy,” he said between sips, “was it really a guy? I thought girl-birds did the nest thing.”

“Maybe he's the dad, and the mother is away? He was definitely a guy, like some kind of bird of prey or something, he looked all intense and spread his wings to eat Toben when we got close!”

 “Was he hot?”

 “What?”

 “Was he hot? You said he was part-guy right. Looking all intense. Like was he pretty? what part was a guy? What did you see?”

 “I don't know!! I saw wings, and a human face--yeah okay I guess he was like super good-looking, and like...I guess mostly a human body, I DONT KNOW I WAS BUSY SAVING MY DOG”

 “Did you see his dick?”

 “ ** _WHY DOES THIS MATTER???!!!_** ”

People began glancing at their table despite being far away. Chanyeol couldn’t see since he was facing away from the crowd but Baekhyun could. He pulled the coffee away from Chanyeol and in a softer, quieter voice he continued, “A beautiful, mostly human creature with big-ass wings sounds like an angel. I read somewhere that angels were sexless so if he doesn't have a dick, he's probably an angel.”

Chanyeol froze, wide eyed.

He leaned back and slowly picked up his drink and sipped it. Baekhyun watched as he drank half of it in one go. “Does that mean...my dog is some kind of messiah?”

Baekhyun sighed. “Yeah sure why not. I thought you called me over to fuck, is that still happening?”


	2. Pregnant

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dont be mislead by the title I'm not into mpreg.  
> Sorry if I'm innacurate with their personalities, I know them primarily through crack vids, memes and variety shows.  
> And to choppy: no this isnt where he's naked on the beach.

It was dark, wherever he was. He wasn't quite sure where he was. Though he hid beneath his own wings, the wings of his kind were almost luminescent. They couldn't hide in darkness, there was no such thing for them. It was precisely because of this Kai was sure, it was very very dark now.

He couldn't see anything beyond his hands, surely he must've still been with the egg. What happened? Had he fallen asleep? They don't sleep. But he had heard about sleep and this was what it was like, right?

Then he heard something faint. A rhythm. A whisper...or maybe singing.

“Hello?” he asked out loud.

Suddenly something reached out beneath him. He didn't know what it was, he couldn't see it, but it embraced him. He felt safe, and warm. The warmth spread throughout his body, from where it touched him to the tip of every feather, every hair.

The embrace drew him nearer, further and further in, like he was sinking. It grew warmer as he fell into the shadow, a welcoming, bright warmth--

He woke up with a start, his face pressed against the shell. He pushed himself upright, and felt the heat on his face. On his chest...a rhythm? A fast rhythm...but how?

He felt weak, his wings still enveloped him and the egg. He wasn't sure how many days it had been that he was here or how long he’d been asleep, but perhaps this weakness was what happened if you stayed in the human world long enough, or was it because of the egg?

Looking down at the egg, in his arms, he turned his head on its side quizzically. Had it grown larger? Do eggs grow larger? He squinted and tried to remember what was taught to them by their creator, but he had forgotten by now. He was far too interested with other things humans did…like dancing.

The way he felt just now before he woke up almost felt like how he felt watching humans dance.

His thoughts were interrupted by a sound of voices in the distance. Men again, he was certain. He tightened his wings, hoping to hide himself better this time. Hopefully they didn't have a dog...much as he wanted to see one again.

“...nother day of your rambling! It's been two weeks already so let's get this over with!”

“This is no joke! We should probably stay away!”

“If we stay away, then do you promise to stop talking about it? Please.”

“....but...you don't believe me!”

Peeking through his feathers, he saw them hasten approach. Well one man did. The man who was closer was smaller and had red hair. The tall man that Kai recognized as the man from before was trailing after him.

“Here? It's here, right?!” the former yelled, stopping a few feet farther away than before.

“Yeah...it...haaa….wow you can walk super fast…”

The shorter man held the taller man by the face at eye level, “Okay, Chanyeol, babe, look at me, okay?” He turned his head to the side, at Kai’s general direction. “Now look at that...Look...see? No bird man. No angel. Just what would be a pretty romantic and maybe sex-on-the-beach inducing view if you could get over this stupid daydream or whatever.”

The man whom Kai now learned was named Chanyeol slapped the other man’s hand away. “Don't make fun of me! I told you, it wasn't there when I got to the beach! That thing is probably like….invisible or something!”

The red haired man’s lips went thin, his eyes went wide. Frustration. He stormed to the side by the rocky end, picked up a small rock, and tossed it toward the open empty shore.

“Okay, angel, come out of hiding!!”

Kai’s eyes widened. He drew his arms closer around the egg. If the man hit it….

The man chucked another stone their way. Another. Each one landed closer to them than the last. This was bad.

“Baekhyun, stop! What are you doing?!”

“Just checking for bird men, babe!!”

He picked up stone after stone, Chanyeol trying to stop him but also watching each stone’s arc intently. Baekhyun picked up a larger rock, roughly larger than a fist, and threw it--”Baekhyun, wait!!”

**_THWACK_ **

The rock collided with Kai’s face right on the nose with a loud thud, and knocked him over.

Baekhyun and Chanyeol’s eyes widened in horror within a short silent pause. Then as soon as the moment came, it was over and both began screaming and jumping into each other's arms in a fearful embrace.

“HOLY SHIT IT’S FUCKING REAL!!!!!”

“I TOLD YOU!!! OH MY GOD, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE??? YOU THREW A ROCK AT AN ANGEL!!”

Kai turned over with a groan, and for a moment he was certain his hand brushed against the sand. The moment he brought his hand up to hold his nose, however, the sensation was forgotten. Was his nose bleeding?

“I-IS IT FUCKING BLEEDING!?!?”

“oh mY GOD YOU BROKE ITS NOSE!!!! YOU THREW A ROCK AT AN ANGEL AND YOU BROKE ITS NOSE!!!!”

His face froze in horror. “Shit...shit, shit, sHIT!! FUCK!! D-Do you think God is super pissed at me?! I mean I’m already gay, I’m treading dangerous waters here!”

“Since when were you religious?”

“SINCE I THREW A FUCKING ROCK AT AN ANGEL AND BROKE ITS NOSE!!”

The angel stirred. “Uhm--”

“AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!” The two men screamed. Kai flinched.

Chanyeol lifted a shaky finger to point at the creature. “I-It's talking, the angel is talking…”

“y-yes, I can see that…A-Angel-ssi?...h-hello…?”

Kai blinked away the stinging sensation. “H-hello…?” he mumbled, “S-Sorry uhm...do you have something I can wipe this with?”

Baekhyun patted down his pockets and found some tissue from the burger place at lunch. It had some ketchup on it. He wanted to cry. “H-here you go…” he said with a whimper, reaching the tissue out to him.

Both angel and man reached out, scared and waiting for the other to approach.

Kai spoke again first. “Sorry...uhm...can you come closer, please? I’m a little dizzy…”

Baekhyun was letting out a quiet continuous whimper as he stepped closer to the angel. Step by step, he pulled back as far as he could, his hand and the tissue stretched at its maximum length.

When Kai took the tissue in his hand, Baekhyun sprinted back to Chanyeol and clung to him. They watched, paralyzed, afraid that running away from the angel spelled damnation, they watched the angel wipe his nose of blood. When Kai looked up at them, he was absolutely oblivious to the terror that incited and even felt nervous. He’d never spoken to humans before. He was only thankful they’d understood them.

“Hey, uh, you guys are...humans right?” he asked. The couple nodded wordlessly. “This egg...is it... a human egg?”

The two looked at the egg, then at each other, somehow calming down. “Uhm,” Chanyeol began, “human’s don’t--”

Baekhyun gave him a light kick on the groin which cut his sentence short. “Of course!” Baekhyun chimed, a smile brightening up his face, “Of course, you’ve got a good eye, Sir, yes that’s a human egg right there!”

“What’re you saying…” Chanyeol wheezed through gritted teeth.

“You want to tell an angel he’s an idiot?” he whispered through a frozen smile, “I don’t need to go to Sunday school to know that when an angel is pissed it rains fucking fire and brimstone!”

Kai frowned at the egg. “So it really is! Why is it alone?? Aren’t parents supposed to raise children together?”

“Great now you’ve made him think we’re all heartless abandoners!”

Shooting his partner a warning glance, he spoke with an attemptedly sweet--resultantly shrill--voice. “No, sir, well, yes-I’m-I’m not sure why it’s alone...maybe something happened to the parents? Maybe-maybe it’s alone and you’re meant to take care of it, sir?”

The words were like a ray of light revealing a path in the darkness. _Maybe he was meant to take care of it._ Was that his purpose here? Did he come down to the human world to take care and nurture another life? He was only so glad to do so. A smile spread across his face, the kind that showed in his eyes, and for a moment both Chanyeol and Baekhyun didn’t feel scared at all.

“I see,” the angel said with a childish tone, warm with delight, “I see! I need to take care of it! I get it now, thank you!”

He rose up, and for the first time the two men noticed that the angel was stark naked but also featureless. He seemed to stand on nothing, his feet, not an inch of him anywhere really, had touched the ground. His hair was a caricature of a cherub, eyes light and defined, features sharp and alluring. He hovered above the ground even as he bent down and embraced the egg, his massive wings causing the sand to rise in small clouds.

The angel glanced up at the two men staring. “If...it’s not too much to ask, can you come visit sometimes? To check on me? I don’t know if I’m really nesting it right…”

They nodded, wordlessly, now more confused than scared. The angel held the egg tightly, and wrapped them both in his wings, disappearing. It was a long walk down the beach before either of them found the words.

“Did you see that….? He wasn’t a scary bird man at all...” Chanyeol said. Then, finding the words, he concluded “He was like a ken doll.”

Baekhyun slapped him up the head.


	3. Incubating

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is surprisingly easy to write....This chapter was mostly plot so maybe that's why. Im a very plot-y writer, hope you enjoy.

That night, the angel dreamt again.

It happened every so often. He would dream of a dark place, a warmth, an embrace, and a sound...or a voice? Tonight, he even felt his own heart beating, it thrummed like a whisper, and it grew louder and louder as he sank deeper until it almost seemed like drums. The rhythm rose and fell, swelling as he sank into the shadows. He didn't seem to mind. He didn't know why. In his dreams, he closed his eyes, anticipating the warmth to swallow him whole again, when--

He woke. Now he felt dizzy, he felt warm. Something around his stomach ached. It hurt. He looked around him, and at the egg. The egg was warm to touch. He looked to the patch of land where his new friends often came from and waited.

For the next week or two since they met Kai, Chanyeol and Baekhyun had dropped by the far end of the beach every few days. Keeping their promise with the angel, as best as two liars could anyway, they would check to see if he was nesting his human egg properly. They would approach, look at it, crouch in the sand to see it in different angles like a pair of experts, nod at each other, then at the angel. They said it was fine, Kai would smile and thank them and they would talk a little.

“What do we call you anyway?” “Kai is fine. What do I call you?” “Chanyeol. And this is--” “Call us hyung.” “What, no, that's--” “Okay, hyung.” “Look what you did! Hey, Kai, that's not right...call me Hyung too.”

They would laugh even. Joke around and appreciate the skyscape. Such and such.

The egg had grown larger, the two men did notice that about ten days in. Almost twice it’s previous size. It was now about the size of a large cat. Once, Chanyeol took Baekhyun aside and pointed it out. “I don't think eggs are supposed to grow...What do you think is in there anyway? A dinosaur?” Though Baekhyun doubted it, he’d simply shrugged. The last time he dismissed Chanyeol, after all, he ended up (nearly) breaking an angel’s nose. Either way they didn't know what to tell Kai.

On those days, when the sun set Kai would get back to nesting inside his wings and the two went home. And now, as evening came, they arrived. As soon as they were close enough to hear him, Kai explained his dilemma to them.

“A fever?” Chanyeol suggested. The knot between his brows looked so tight in contrast with his loosely open mouth. “Do angels...even get fevers?”

“Well,” Baekhyun started, “I mean he may not have a dick but he is butt naked on the beach day and night.” Chanyeol's mouth shut with surprise. That made sense. “Let's grab a thermometer or something and check.”

They went to the nearest store and bought one, Chanyeol checked Kai’s temperature and found he wasn't warm at all, but that he did seem a little flushed. He took him aside, the angel sat hugging his knees. Chanyeol crouched down and checked his eyes, mouth, and pulse. He checked his temperature again, for good measure. “Nothing seems strange, but maybe that's what's wrong...How warm are angels supposed to be? should we take him to a doctor?”

Chanyeol was talking but Baekhyun didn't really hear him. Until now they had kept a considerable distance, but at this range, he couldn't help but stare at the egg. He crouched down to look at it as Chanyeol recounted observations like Kai’s wings seeming duller, and his features seeming harsher.

“I’m checking the egg.” Baekhyun offered as he reached out. The moment his palm touched the shell, he froze. The egg was hot, not painfully so but like a bath might be, the heat going down all the way to his bones, melting his muscles and clouding his thoughts. He stopped breathing, or more like, he felt breathless. He wanted to pull his hand away but instead he held on tighter.

“Baekhyun?” Chanyeol called.

He saw him frozen, hand on the egg, pale as a ghost, and he darted past Kai and grabbed his hand. “Baekhyun, let go!” He wouldn't budge. He strained to pry them apart, and heaved until they both fell back, hands free of the egg.

A sudden sharp breath. “Hey, hey are you okay?” Chanyeol whispered, patting color back into his Baekhyun’s face.

Baekhyun’s eyes darted around then suddenly focused on Chanyeol. His chanyeol. He wrapped his arms around him and gave him a deep kiss, prying his lips open to taste his tongue. “Baekhyu--” “Let’s go home. Let’s go home, now.”

With sudden urgency, Baekhyun took Chanyeol by the hand and marched off pulling him in tow. Confused and speechless, Chanyeol looked back at the angel watching them leave. Crouched and small against the setting sun, hands clenched tight against his torso, scared and lost, all alone.

***

The moment they got to Chanyeol’s apartment, Baekhyun slammed the door shut and locked it.

“What’s wrong, you seem really te--”

Chanyeol couldn't even finish his question. In a flurry of movement, Baekhyun had pushed Chanyeol all the way to his bedroom and onto the bed. He climbed onto him and kissed him so hard, Chanyeol thought their lips might bruise.

Baekhyun pulled away, breathless, stripping off layer after layer of clothing.

“Babe, what are you doing?! We need to get back to--”

A hand had made its way through the zipper of Chanyeol's pants and it shut him up. In the back of his mind he thought that if they weren't going to hell for nearly breaking Kai’s nose, this would definitely get them there. He didn't resist it though.

It was an urgent need that came over both of them, the rest of the world seemed to have fallen off the face of the earth, insignificant. Because of that, they got carelessly noisy and rough.

In the room below, Kris woke up with a groan. He squinted at the ceiling and considered interrupting them to shut them up, but was too lazy.

“What's wrong?” Suho mumbled, half asleep.

“Your kids are loud.” he groaned.

Suho opened one eye to look at him, then up at the source of the noise. He grabbed the remote and turned on the tv to drown it out. “Just go back to sleep.” he soothed. Kris smoothed his hair back to cool his forehead, and stretched his back and arms. They ached. He hid in the covers willing himself asleep, Suho nuzzling close.

***

Chanyeol and Baekhyun woke with a start, sitting up as if just woken from a nightmare.

The night sky faded outside the apartment window, casting light onto the rumpled sheets, about three or four used condoms, and clothes that neither had bothered to put away. Without a word, they looked at each other, hair a mess, naked and puffy from sleep. The moment they had finished last night---well, when they finished about the third or tenth time, who’s counting?---it was like a fog lifted from their eyes, but in their fatigue they fell right asleep. Now that they were awake, the thought came clear again: they'd done something terrible.

They both got dressed and ran like hell to fix it. They had just sprinted ten blocks to ditch their angel friend and fuck like bunnies, then fell asleep without a single care in the world. Fear, concern, and guilt moved them as wordlessly as last night’s sudden impulse to shag.

The streets were sparsely occupied. It was only the morning people starting up their routines, people on their way to the commute bound for a distant office, shopkeepers readying their storefronts, and then these two, the horny liars.

Halfway there, they ran out of breath and had slowed to a walk. It was like a walk of shame except they had left the house. Chanyeol shook his head. “What...hah...what did we do?”

Baekhyun could only shrug. He didn't know.

As they approached the far end of the beach they could see Kai crouched on the ground, his wings stretched and quivering under the soft morning light of sunrise. They broke into a sprint.

“Kai?! Kai!!”

They heard his labored breathing from afar. He was facing the ocean, he seemed to be trying to stand. His arms and legs kept pushing him up and then giving away, and when he slipped he seemed to brush against the sand, small marks in the sand telling of a fall and a crawl from the egg to where he was. His wings seemed to shrink and fade with every shudder, his ragged breath coming in a crash then a lull. Too afraid to touch him and hurt him, Baekhyun and Chanyeol could only watch him heave and struggle until his wings disappeared completely.

Then, silence.

Kai crouched still, head down, on all fours.  

Then he breathed, a sharp almost echoing gasp. He pushed himself up, trying to stand, knees shaking. First one leg...then the other.

His feet were both planted firmly in the sand.

He turned slowly, and Baekhyun and Chanyeol’s eyes went wide with shock.

The angel had a dick. And nipples too. He looked perfectly human. Like a really handsome, sexy human, actually. A handsome sexy naked man on the beach.

Kai followed their gaze and felt conscious of himself. He backed away, breathless, the wind cold against his skin, the ground sinking under his weight. He backed away, shaking, hands trying and failing to cover himself.

He looked up to his friends, pleading. “Don't look…” he managed to whisper before collapsing on the spot.

Then, his stomach growled.


	4. Migration

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The hatching is taking a while because it's fun to mess with everyone, also there's more to do than thought. Still, I suspect either by the end of next chapter or the chapter after that, i'll be there.
> 
> Also that one joke....I regret nothing and everything, it had to be made.

“Shit.”  

Baekhyun looked up to Chanyeol with a snap. “What? What?”

Chanyeol sighed. “I left my keys inside.” Baekhyun gave a low groan, the angel--no, the man--in his arms suddenly felt ten times heavier. “Ring the fucking doorbell then!”

“If I do that, Suho will answer, and then he’ll see Kai!”

Baekhyun thought about putting Kai down, but the poor thing was shivering. He either felt cold, or scared, or both. Either way, putting him down now seemed cruel. The small three storey apartment had a ladder for a fire escape, so sneaking in that way was no good. An excuse? “We’ll say….we'll say he’s a friend who passed out piss drunk or something!”

“But what do we say about the egg??”

Kai, unresponsive until now, tightened his embrace around the egg as if on cue. Rolling his eyes, Baekhyun struggled to hold Kai as he adjusted Chanyeol’s jacket to cover the egg. “There, no egg in sight. Are you satisfied?!”

Chanyeol smiled inwardly. He had to carry Kai more than half of the way here and Baekhyun hurried him the whole time. Oh how the tables had turned. “Yeah alright”

He rang the doorbell.

When the door opened, however, it wasn't Suho. Chanyeol’s stomach sank and his mouth hung open in an awkward smile. “Hey waddap Kris”

“Ey, yo wassup.”

There was a long drawn-out silence. Kris had only opened the door partway, not letting them in. With Chanyeol fully dressed, and Kris in nothing but a bathrobe and jeans, the flat expression directed at him made it feel like he was the one who didn't live there, and he was the one interrupting. He stretched his smile.

“Uhm….can you open the door a little bit more, I need to go in?” he said in his sweetest voice.

Kris raised an eyebrow. “Suho and I barely slept a wink last night. Did you even bother to have dinner?” he said with a yawn, “Did you both take something? Who has that kind of stamina, dude, I mean c’mon.”

“Where’s Suho?”

As if summoned by the mention of his name, he emerged from behind Kris in his scrubs, uncharacteristically dark circles under his eyes. “Suho was pumping caffeine into his blood.” he announced, “Nice to know you both have a healthy set of lung--Oh my God, who is that?!”

Kris looked up to see what Suho had seen. At the sight of Kai, his eyes widened.

“A friend--he passed out sick at a party--” but Suho didn't wait for Chanyeol to finish. He was at Kai’s side, checking his pulse and his temperature. “Where are his clothes?? He’s freezing! And pale as a corpse! C’mon, get him inside, Chanyeol get some blankets, Kris make the kid some hot chocolate! Hurry up!”

They rushed in and didn't bother going upstairs, Baekhyun set Kai down on Suho’s bed as Kris and Chanyeol did as he’d asked. Suho pulled off Chanyeol’s jacket and saw the huge egg in his arms. He turned to Baekhyun for an explanation, and got a furtive glance in response. Baekhyun stayed Suho's hand when he reached for it. He warned, “Don't touch it.”

“What?”

“I have the blankets!” Chanyeol announced. Suho shook his head and decided to ignore the egg. They wrapped Kai in layers of blankets and helped him drink the hot chocolate. Everyone watched quietly as he held his head up to take the warm drink. It was only when he stopped shivering that Suho set the chocolate down.

A sigh of relief. “Okay, he’s fine, he was just really cold. He seems hungry and exhausted, too. Who is this guy?”

Baekhyun and Chanyeol glanced at each other for a good excuse. “Uhm, just a friend we met with at a party last night,” Chanyeol offered. “We were the only ones around when he passed out,” Baekhyun added.

Kris shook his head and took Suho aside without a word. Chanyeol and Baekhyun watched them whispering to each other but couldn't hear anything. They saw Suho step back with a raised brow and glance back at them. They seemed to panic for a moment, Kris shook his head, and Suho insisted on something. An argument seemed to come and go in the span of two minutes, and when they turned around, they each had their arms crossed.

“You're lying.” Kris said simply. Like naughty children caught in mischief, Chanyeol and Baekhyun froze. “Wh-why would we lie?”

Suho shrugged theatrically, “I don't know. Where did you find this man? And tell us the truth.”

“Look, I’m sorry we can’t tell you...but please, trust us, just don't kick him out or call the police!” Chanyeol pleaded, Baekhyun elbowed him in the ribs but he continued, “He’s not a bad person, but he needs to stay hidden until we can figure out how to--”

“So you know he's an angel.”

The two looked to Kris, a matching set of round eyes. Baekhyun was first to speak. “How...how do you know?”

“Because I know him. I’m an angel too.”

Baekhyun and Chanyeol looked to each other. Then at Kris. Then each other. They laughed. “You? YOU? An angel?!” It was apparently hilarious.

Kris rolled his eyes and a pair of large violently purple wings sprung out from behind him, covering the span of the room and sending the disbelieving couple onto their butts in shock. The display would’ve been impressive, except that one wing had knocked over a vase by the wall.

_CRASH_

Kris winced, Suho shut his eyes. They both chose to ignore that.

***

In his dream, Kai still had his wings. He ran his fingers along the soft radiant feathers, smooth to the touch, like silk, or hair. Maybe it was just a bad dream that they’d gone.

He was still on the beach, but he could feel the sand between his toes.

 _“What’s wrong?”_ a voice behind him asked. He shivered. Someone warm embraced him from behind, wings sandwiched between them, warm and wet sand at their feet.

He stared out at the horizon, looking up at the clouds and feeling like he was going to cry. What did he come here to do?

The arms that embraced him tightened their grip. He could feel a face by his ear, and he tensed for the whisper that came.

_“Don't be scared.”_

Kai woke up to the sight of someone sat by his feet at the end of the bed. “Kris?”

Kris looked back at Kai. “You're awake. How are you feeling?” he asked.

“I don't know… what are you doing here? What...what’s going on?”

“That's what I want to know. Why are you here, and what's with the egg?”

The egg lay on its side with his whole body wrapped around it. It was warm as always. He smiled, relieved that he hadn't left it. He vaguely remembered kicking a fuss when Chanyeol had carried him and tried to leave without it. He broke free, an uncoordinated mess that clung to the egg, then plucked it from the ground.

It was only now, in the comfort of certainty that the egg was still in his arms that he thought to question how it was possible. He couldn't move the egg an inch before, but now he picked it up as easily as anything. What changed? Him? The egg? Both?

“I think I’m meant to take care of this egg…” he mumbled.

Kris raised an eyebrow at him. “The human egg?” When Kai nodded, he couldn't help but sigh.

When Chanyeol and Baekhyun had explained the situation to him and Suho, Kris wanted to slap them both. Kai was one of their youngest, he’d come into being at the tailend of the great war, he didn't know of a time without man and had only ever loved seeing man dance. Still, this level of ignorance was beyond what he thought possible among a race so old. He’d promised not to tell Kai about their fib, not because he cared what Kai thought of those two, but because he wasn't sure how Kai would react. Also, he himself didn't know what was in the egg. He couldn't remember the last time he’d seen one like that, if he ever did, or if he’d ever even heard of one. Until he knew what it was, he wasn't sure getting rid of it would be wise.

“If we told Kai what we know, he might not believe us,” he’d said. “He’s attached now. He might run off with it, and who knows what could happen then. He could die, and the egg might hatch anyway. At least here we can all watch them.”

He sighed. Kai stirred. Both worried about each other. Kris looked at the young angel, now a young man, and heard his stomach growl. Kai winced, unsure what that pain was, wishing it would go away.

“Here,” Kris offered, peeIing back the lid and handing Kai a box of fried chicken. “What you're feeling, that pain, it's called hunger. You need to eat. This is chicken.”

Kai looked offended. “Chickens?” But the scent was alluring so he sat up and reached for one.

With human instinct, he brought it to his mouth and took a bite. The skin crunched between his teeth and the flavor came in like blast in his mind. It tasted as good as it smelled, and as he chewed it in his mouth, a juice seemed to come out of it, a concentrated formula of bliss. The first thing he ever tasted in this world of man. It was like heaven.

“Chwikhin…” he mused as he ate, “Ish ahll food like chwikhin?”

“No it's all different.” Kris laughed.

Kai scarfed down the piece in his hands and reached for another, then another. He looked up at Kris. “You don't want any?”

“No.” he scoffed, wiping his mouth of any crumbs or oil that might still be there.

“Honeys, I’m home!”

Suho arrived with a shopping bag in hand. “Kai, you're awake! Kris, why didn't you call me?”

“He literally just woke up. Are those clothes for him?”

He dropped the keys in a bowl by the door and nodded, “That and some adult diapers.” Kris winced, but Suho raised his eyebrows knowingly. “It took you a few days to get it right, I’m just saying. From the looks of it, he’s filling that tank fast.”

Kai stopped mid-chicken to look up at Suho.

Suho gave a warm motherly smile. “Hello, Kai right?” he said sweetly, like talking to a child, “Look, since you're human for the foreseeable future, to make things easier we’ll give you a human name and story to use alright? You're my younger cousin, Kim Jongin! You're here to visit. Do you understand?”

With Suho's playful wink, Kai only raised an eyebrow and looked to Kris. Kris just shrugged and encouraged he just play along. Kai nodded.

***

The room beside Chanyeol’s in the second floor was for rent, but Suho figured he would lend it to Kai until he could get by on his own. Kris himself only got his own apartment out of stubbornness, but he was already getting by fine.

There was little sleep again that night. After Kai woke up, they taught him how to dress in clothes, how to use the lights and the bathroom. The bed was set with spare linens, the bathroom with spare towels, a scarce amount of spare chairs and pictures to help liven it up. The only thing Kai himself set was a corner of the bed. Three pillows laid in a pile for the egg to lean on as Kai curled around it.

When they were done, the four men nodded in satisfaction. Dressed in a shirt and shorts, he looked normal now. Except for his cherub hair. They’d need to fix that. “Goodnight, Kai.” “Dude, it’s Jongin now.” “Right, Jongin. Goodnight, Jongin.” “Goodnight, Nini.” “I thought it was Jongin?!”

Suho interrupted the banter and dragged Chanyeol and Baekhyun out, telling Jongin to get some rest, and goodnight. Kris lingered by the door for a bit, and as expected, Kai asked him a question.

“Kris, am I going to be like this forever? Did I...do something wrong?”

The older man reached out and patted his head. “We’ll talk tomorrow. Get some rest for now.”

Kai went to bed and nuzzled against the egg. They had moved, but nothing changed. Kai was still nesting.


	5. Adjustment Period

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> long as hecc but next chapter breeds the end of the egg phase

For a while now, the dreams stopped making sense.

Since his first night as a human, that dream on the beach, it had slowly turned into something more abstract. The sights in the dream became bare shapes of light and color, and mostly it was dark. What felt vivid in the dream was now gone with daylight. In the beginning there was a voice, something rather distinct. There was also smell--something sweet, perhaps a little salty, like ocean air but not--something almost like taste. There was also touch. Oh, there was touch.

But always, upon waking, he could hardly remember what that touch felt like, yet it was always on his mind when he woke and he always felt hot. Increasingly, there was a space inside that went all the way to between his legs that seemed to ache with a dull pain.

He sat up with a groan and wiped the phantom sweat from his forehead. He felt thirsty.

He learned to have a pitcher of water by his bed these days. Kris explained that different human bodies have different needs, so making habits to accommodate them were important. His was this: to drink water, to go to the bathroom, to wash his face and sit in the breeze to cool down.

Were human bodies always so hot? Or was it the egg? He noticed it was always so warm. He wasn't sure if that was him or the egg anymore.

When he reached for the pitcher for a drink, it lifted without effort. Empty. He forgot to fill it. He stepped out to get some from Suho, but froze at the top of the stairs.

_“Mnnh…”_

At the bottom of the steps, by the doorway, Kris had pinned Suho to the door, their mouths locked together, squirming like they couldn't break free. Suho’s hands clutched to the space between Kris’ shoulders, pulling the shirt so hard that the collar was pulled taut and low.

Kai couldn’t see well from this angle, but he couldn’t help but watch anyway. He could hear them breathing heavily, hear Suho moan as Kris went from holding his face in his hands to touching his stomach, up and down, down to his pants. The dull pain between his legs.

“AHHh, SUHO!! What are you doing in front of Kai?!”

All eyes went to Chanyeol at the top of the steps behind Kai, horrified. Kris horrified. Suho mortified, hand clasped around his mouth.

“Ahh, this is nasty, it’s like catching your parents making you a new sibling…” Baekhyun frowned.

“Look who’s talking, you think we didn’t hear you guys last night?! Seriously!!” Suho scolded. He sighed. “But you’re right, God what is this place, a brothel? It feels like everyone's just having sex all the time these days.” He motioned Kai to approach, “Jongin, sorry, did you need some water? Go ahead and get some from my place.”

Kai climbed down the steps with his head hung low. “Uhm, what’s... sex?”

Suho looked like he wanted to cry.

“Mommy, I think you need to have ‘the talk’ with your son soon.” Baekhyun laughed.

Kris slouched against the wall, visibly disappointed by the lack of resolution. “We’ll tell him when that egg hatches. He’ll be too busy with motherhood by then.” Mopey, sluggishly, he opened the door to leave. “Well, I got work. See you, children.”  

Kai stopped him at the doorway as Suho filled the pitcher.

“Ah, Kris! Can I go out with you today? I can't find any of those job things around here, maybe I’ll have better luck in the city?”

Kris looked up to Suho for approval. Mom nodded.

“Guess you're a big boy now, Jongin. Hurry and get dressed, I don't want to be late.”

***

It was around ten in the morning, and fortunately, the traincar was mostly empty. Among the few people who shared the space, several glanced at Kris now and then, and one woman even stared.

“Uhm,” she finally said, “It’s okay to laugh if I’m wrong, but are you that guy on that cologne commercial?”

Kris nodded with a smile.

The woman went giddy. “You looked really good in it! I remember seeing you in other commercials… are you a model?”

“Kind of. I want to act, I’m going to an audition right now.”

“I see...I hope you do well. I look forward to seeing you on television more!”

Kai looked Kris up and down. Kai was already tall, but Kris was taller. He’d seen the commercial on TV, and he supposed he was quite attractive.

He could see why Suho might have been charmed by him, though he’s amazed he’d seen through his purple hair at the time. The short black haircut was definitely an improvement.

Staring at the space between Kris’ shoulders, he thought back on what Kris told him that first morning after he’d turned human.

Kris’ purpose was Suho. He’d come down to earth two years ago, drawn to him, and followed him around. A rich-kid who deviated from the family real estate business and went to med school. He was skilled, aiming to be a paediatric oncologist and probably going to do good, but unfortunately he was also a mess, and one night a pile of his not-yet-unpacked boxes collapsed and nearly killed him. That’s where Kris came in.

The moment he pushed Suho out of the way, he started turning human.

 _I don’t really know why I’m human either,_ he'd said, _I can actually draw my wings out now…but part of me doesn’t want to go back up there yet, assuming I can. So I don’t think you’re going to be stuck here. It happened after, for me, but maybe you need to finish whatever your purpose here is?_

Kai looked down at the backpack slung in front of him. A portion of the back had been cut out so he was always in contact with the egg.

“You should start leaving that thing at home,” Kris warned, “you don’t know what could happen out here. I told you, people might try to take the egg. That’s why you don’t see anyone with eggs, you’re not supposed to bring it with you.”

“But when I’m apart from it, it starts to cool down. I took a long bath once, and then when I came back it was almost freezing.” He hugged his backpack tightly, protectively. “As long as I’m in contact with it, it doesn’t seem to grow cold. I can’t just leave it.”

Kris only shook his head. How could he find a job lugging a giant egg of unknown origin around? But maybe he needed to become human to nest the egg? That made sense. Sort of.

The doors opened as they reached their stop. When they got off the car, Kris pulled Kai aside and away from the crowd.

“Do you have your phone? Keys? Our address?”

“Of course. I’ll be fine, jeez.”

Kris flicked him in the forehead.

“OW!!”

“Don’t get sassy with me. Only human for a week, and already picking up their lesser qualities. Message me if you’re going home, or call if you need anything else, alright?”

Kai nodded with a pout.

Kris frowned and tousled his hair. “Even with your hair straight and brown like this, you still draw attention. Be careful, alright?”

It occured to Kai then why Kris didn’t live with Suho. The gap between the freedom of heaven and earth was no easy adjustment, and these human emotions were more complicated. The only one he was really good at identifying was hunger and sleepiness. Easiest to satisfy, too. Even as Kris walked away, he only wondered if there was any chicken around.

Kai went from store to store looking for a help wanted sign, asking if there were any positions open. Most people wanted a resume from him, which he didn’t have. Suho was still fixing his legal papers.

It was long past noon when he realized how hungry he was.

Looking for a place to eat, he saw parents with their children walking past him holding hands. He wondered if the human inside the egg would do the same. Would he be able to take them out to eat? Or would he have to give them up to some kind of orphanage? The thought of it turned Kai’s stomach for some reason, and he felt hot headed, his eyes warm. He moved the backpack to his front and gave it a desperate hug.

“Kai?!”

Kai looked up and searched for the face that matched the familiar voice. Approaching him from across the street was a bright blond head of hair, cherub-like with a smile to match.

“...Jimin?”

***

Sat across each other, Kai stared at his fond friend while Jimin cheerily ate his food.

“What’s that?” Kai asked.

“Jajangmyeon! I’m in the mood for korean noodles…” Jimin slurped the stringy spectacle with a blissful look on his face. Though curious, Kai was happy with his chicken, especially since Jimin was paying. A welcoming present, he said. “So, how do you like the human realm? How long have you been here?”

“Uhm… about a month or so, but I’ve only had this body for a week.”

“So, do you know why you're here?”

“Well, I’m...I’m nesting this human egg.” He opened the flap of his backpack to let Jimin peek at the egg. Jimin's eyes widened. He had been in the human realm for nearly a year, but he had not once heard of humans coming from eggs. He honestly hadn't thought about how humans were made, until now. He knew about moms and dads but… “Jimin, do you know anything about human eggs?”

“Uh…yeah! Yes, of course…” he laughed. “Uhm, how long has it been around? Where did the mother...lay it?”

Kai shrugged. “I don't know. I found it on the beach, and I couldn't move it then so maybe there? It's about twice the size now, but it's easy to move around. Is that normal?”

Jimin scoffed. “Of course. I mean...working mothers exist. They sometimes need to bring their eggs with them of course, they can't just nest their eggs until they hatch.”

Kai's face visibility brightened. No one else answered any of his questions about the egg, they didn't seem to know much...but Jimin knew! Thank goodness. “How long does it take?”

“To...to hatch? Uh kinda...kinda long? Like, it depends on the kind of egg, and how they're raised. With how big that egg is, _soon_ , I’d say, _very soon_.”

“I see.” he sighed, a bittersweet feeling. “Oh! Also I’ve been waking up kind of...feverish? And like...the space between my legs hurts...and I--I have these weird dreams...like someone uhm...” and here he visibly reddened, “like someone touching me?”

Jimin was frozen. What was this boy doing. He experienced a lot more weird shit in a fraction of the time. “That's…” he said pensively, but confidently, stroking his chin, “Those are nesting pains. Yeah. Uh...the dreams are probably weird because you're...y’know you haven't been human long. But the pain and the fever are from the egg. It will go away when the egg is hatched.”

Looking down at the egg, Kai nodded with a satisfied smile. If it was for the egg, he was okay with this consequence. “I see.” he mumbled, hugging his backpack in his lap, “thank you, Jimin.”

Uncertainty plain in his eyes, but unseen by his angelic friend, Jimin smiled and nodded assuringly. “No problem.”

They ate the rest of their meal peacefully, Jimin only too glad to change the topic.

They started talking about their human experiences. The horrific consequences of digestion, and the sweet payoff of consumption. Sleep. Temperature, heightened and sensitive temperature. Emotions, strong and confusing, and the sense of freedom and curiosity. Free will. The gift that started the war that neither really remembered.

“This human thing,” Jimin shared, “I can see why we’re supposed to watch over them. It’s so hard. You can go from feeling so terrible to feeling so good, I can see why people get confused about...well, everything.”

Kai nodded. He was definitely confused most of the time.

“Well, I have to go.” Jimin said, standing up. “I have practice in a bit, and it’s a bit of a walk from here.”

“Practice?”

Here, Jimin smiled. “Dance. We could only watch from up there, but I’m doing it now. Professionally. They give me money to learn how to do all kinds of dances and then perform in front of other people.”

There was a skip and a thrum, an imbalance, a floating rhythm in Kai’s chest. To dance, just like humans did. “Can..can I do that too? I’m actually looking for a job right now, and I...that sounds so...”

Kai didn’t have to finish his sentence.

Jimin put his arm around Kai’s shoulder and pulled him along with a faint laugh and a cheeky grin. “You’ll pick it up really easily, I swear. I don’t know what it is, but I’m sure, you’re just like me. It won’t be easy sometimes, there’s some things you need to learn but…”

He knew the moment he spotted Kai that if he wasn’t already dancing, he’d want to. There just happened to be a spot open, and he knew the boss would love him too.

In his mind, Kai was already on the dancefloor. His feet felt lighter, almost like he was flying again.

***

The sun had just set by the time Kai was home. He was dizzy with hunger, but without a job he tried not to spend too much of this money thing and just ate whatever Suho had for him.

He knocked on Suho's door before even going up to his room.

“Kai! Come in, I’m just setting up dinner.”

Kris was sat at the table, already eating. He gave a nod and a single stiff wave to greet Kai, then turned his attention back to the food as Suho joined him.

“I got your message, so you found a job?” Suho smiled, “I’ll have your papers ready next week, but it looks like there's no rush, then?”

Kai nodded as he sat down. “I don't wanna go into detail yet until I’ve tried the job myself, but it looks like fun. Oh! actually…” he took out his phone and fiddled to find a picture. “Kris, look!”

Kris’s eyes narrowed and widened. “Isn’t that your friend? So he’s here too…”

Suho peeked at the picture. “He’s really cute!” he grinned, “He has the same cherub hair that you did. Angelic.”

“Unlike Kris?”

Kris smacked him up the head.

“Don't take out your bad choices on him!” Suho frowned, “Kai told me, you chose to look that way. Now your wings are still purple, even if the agency had you fix your hair.” His eyes wandered to Jimin’s picture again, an attractive face with a wide smile that roundened his cheeks and turned his eyes slight with laughter. Just like with Kai and Kris, the smile was infectious. “But does this mean there are a lot of angels here?” he asked Kris, “You, Kai, and now this one.”

“We’re everywhere, I’m sure. Our kind have been around since your beginning, and helping around...I just didn't know we became like you. This is the first time it's happened to me, but who knows about the others.”

Even with the full stomach, Kai felt dizzy thinking about it. “Why do you think none of us ever asked about that? I never even thought of it until now.”

Kris couldn't answer.

“Kai? Kai, are you okay? You look a little weak.”

“I don't know...I’m not hungry anymore but…maybe I should get some sleep?”

Suho nodded.

Kai stood up, a little wobbly. Suho and Kris watched him carefully, feeling like he might faint on the spot. He made it to the door before collapsing against it.

“Not again.” Kris groaned.

Suho slapped him up the head this time. He went to Kai and touched his forehead, sensing a fever. “C’mon help me take him upstairs,” he sighed.

Kris frowned and took a final bite before getting up. Fatherhood was not his purpose.


End file.
